As the business voice of architects in Alberta, one of the key issues that the Consulting Architects of Alberta (CAA) focuses on is improving the working environment for Alberta architects.

One way of doing this is through the CAA’s Procurement and Contracts Committee.  Most recently, some of the issues the committee has acted on are:

  • Wording issues in AHS contracts
  • Liquidated damages in Alberta Infrastructure contracts
  • Alberta Senior Housing Corporation/Morinville RFP
  • COR Safety Certification requirement listed in a recent Red Deer RFP

For each of the above mentioned situations, the CAA contacted the client to advise on the issues in the documents.

***

The CAA is also involved in the federal government’s Public Services  and Procurement Services (PSPC) national working group on procurement. Doug McConnell, Co-chair of the P&C Committee, is the CAA representative and will attend the RAIC festival to speak about the CAA experience in the plenary panel session.  He will also be present when the formation of the group is contemplated.

***

Two time-specific initiatives that we are working on are the CAA business awards and Pitching Green.

This is the second year for the CAA Awards Program. Different from other architecture-focused programs, the CAA Awards focus specifically on the BUSINESS aspect of architecture.  The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2018. Please click here for submission details. Please click here to see last year’s winning submission.

***

Through a grant from Alberta Economic Development, the CAA has struck the Pitching Green Committee. This committee is developing a database about green architecture in Alberta.  The committee will be holding its first working meeting on May 3, 2018.

***

The CAA is also focused on succession planning to ensure that the positive work of the association continues and grows.  Recently, the P&C Committee added to their numbers with four young architects who are interested in contracts.

We have also added a couple more young architects based in Calgary, which will enable the CAA to increase its presence at Calgary-based meetings and events.

Behind the scenes, the CAA Board has also been working on ways to make the CAA more relevant and significant to our members.  One important initiative is to attract small and medium sized practices to join by making membership reasonable while encouraging participation in the committees to lend their perspective regardless of firm size.  We are excited to roll out some initiatives that the CAA believes will increase our representation and strengthen our relevance as the business voice of architects in Alberta!

 

Cheers,

Jayne Jeneroux

Executive Director

Consulting Architects of Alberta

780.488.8878